General Motors sure pulled a fast one on Michigan. In 2022, when EVs were riding high and Biden was in office, GM and LG Energy Solution announced a $2.6 billion Ultium cells battery factory in Lansing. GM soaked up the good press, bragging about “strengthening our Michigan and U.S. manufacturing presence” and promising 1,700 new jobs.

Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, made it sound like a done deal. “This significant investment demonstrates our commitment to strengthen our Michigan and U.S. manufacturing presence and grow good-paying jobs,” she said. “We will have the products, the battery cell capacity and the vehicle assembly capacity to be the EV leader by mid-decade.”

Two years later, that “commitment” was out the window.

Right after the 2024 election—when Trump won and threatened to cut EV tax credits—GM quietly bailed. It reached a “non-binding agreement” to sell its stake to LG. The company framed the exit as a win-win, saying the deal would “help LG Energy Solution meet demand” and “make GM even more efficient.” Translation? GM bailed on Lansing to cut costs.

GM got the Ultium factory PR, lansing got the shaft

Michigan gave GM incentives to bring those 1,700 jobs to Lansing. The plant was supposed to be the third Ultium cells site, joining factories in Ohio and Tennessee. But by late 2024, GM was already backing away.

In October—before officially pulling out—it quietly killed the ultium branding. That wasn’t just a logo slapped on press releases. It was the legal name of the joint venture itself. The move was a red flag. Two months later, GM walked away from the Ultium factory altogether.

Toyota takes GM’s leftovers: the old Ultium factory

LG was left scrambling—until Toyota stepped in. The world’s biggest automaker saw an opportunity. It rerouted a $1.5 billion battery order to the Lansing Ultium factory to “boost operations,” according to Automotive News.

That’s right. Toyota, the automaker that dragged its feet on EVs for years, knows battery production in Michigan is a good bet. Meanwhile, GM—headquartered in Detroit—was ready to let the Ultium factory fail.

Toyota’s move makes sense. Its biggest factory in the world is just 4.5 hours south, in Georgetown, Kentucky. That plant cranks out the new all-hybrid Camry and the wildly popular RAV4 hybrid. With hybrids flying off dealer lots, Toyota needs a battery supply chain. GM apparently thinks it doesn’t.

Hybrids aren’t a trend—they’re the future

Automakers are scrambling to catch up on hybrid production. Toyota expects 40 percent of its U.S. sales to be hybrids in the near future. Ford is doubling F-150 hybrid output. Even Honda—another longtime hybrid player—is expanding battery orders.

Why? Because hybrids just make sense. They last longer than gas cars. And PHEVs can commute on cheap electric power while avoiding the range anxiety that still plagues full EVs.

GM, meanwhile, is betting it can cut costs and stay competitive by walking away from U.S. battery production. That’s a dangerous game. The reason China dominates battery manufacturing isn’t some secret formula. It’s because the government and automakers collaborated to invest consistently for 15 years. They built supply chains. They committed to scaling production.

The U.S. still hasn’t figured that out. Washington can’t settle on long-term incentives. Detroit automakers keep changing strategies every election cycle. And Toyota—again—just stepped in to clean up GM’s mess. If history is any guide, it won’t be the last time.